Falling Into Places
by PuppyNoelle
Summary: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.
1. Chapter 1

**Falling Into Places**

by_ PuppyNoelle_

Description: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. They must learn how to survive in the hectic world of college life, part-time jobs, self-doubt, and cunning high-class nemeses. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.

A/N: Yay! Chapter 1 of the UM sequel has arrived! :D

First, I'd like to thank the ever lovely Miyaow/Miyaow-NOT for helping me iron out some plot ideas for this story. Basically, I tell her my ideas, and she yea's or nay's if she thinks you guys will be on board with something or not. I _love_ getting feedback! :3

But I really want to thank all of the readers and fans, especially the reviewers! I honestly never expected that I would be lavished with so much praise. You guys totally blew me away! In all of my video and audio production classes, I was so used to being the one who had to bust her ass simply to keep her head above water. Knowing that I can excel in writing is such a huge self-esteem booster for me, and because of your support, you guys have all wriggled your way into my heart! Thank you! This sequel is dedicated to all of you, my beloved fans 3

Love, Ash~

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><p>Chapter 1: <em>Poco a Poco<em>

Maka Albarn quickly discovered that the plane ride to New York City was a _disaster._

Her oldest, and most obnoxious friend, Black Star, was incredibly antsy the _entire_ flight. If he was seated, legs twitched around constantly, and if he _wasn't_ seated, he ran up and down the aisles whining and moaning about how _bored_ he was. In total, he had been warned twelve times by the flight attendants to sit down and stop disturbing the other passengers, before the captain himself came out personally. He threatened to land halfway through the journey just to kick the blue-haired assassin off the plane. Eventually Tsubaki convinced her boyfriend to switch seats with her so that he could have the window seat and watch outside.

Maka's other male friend, Death the Kid, behaved just as poorly as Black Star. From the moment everyone boarded the plane, he began shouting and mumbling about the asymmetry of the plane's old, and slightly weathered interior. Though his girlfriend, Liz, and her sister, Patty, had managed to keep him in his seat, his constant mumbles and cries from the fetal position in his seat annoyed the staff and passengers just as much as Black Star's loud outbursts had.

Maka's boyfriend-slash-almost-fiancee, Soul, slouched deep into the seat beside her. His earbuds were buried into his ears, and his iPod blared so loudly that she could hear every word that was sung. He did his very best to drown out everything going on around him. Maka attempted to do the same, but the noise was so jarring that her friends' voices kept yanking her attention away from her novel. She peered over to see that Black Star was now incessantly poking her lover in the shoulder. She closed her book, preparing for a Maka-Chop.

"Soul! Dude! Lemme borrow your PSP! I am sooooo fucking _bored!"_ Black Star whined.

Maka's partner refused to remove his earphones, and futilely tried swatting his best friend's hands away. Finally, the blonde meister gave into her impulse, and her brand new hardcover book crashed into the assassin's skull.

"Ow! Dammit, Maka! I just wanna play some videogames!"

"Black Star, you idiot! Soul's music is too loud, and he can't hear you! He did that because, just like the rest of us, he doesn't want to be _bugged_ by _you!_"

"Shut up Maka, and just get the damn PSP for me!" He stuck out his tongue at her teasingly, "If I don't get it, I'm gonna starting kicking his fucking seat!"

Maka growled, but reached into the backpack that served as her partner's carry-on luggage. She dug around inside until her fingers met with the hard plastic case that familiar device was encased in. Two crimson eyes warily watched as his meister's delicate fingers withdrew his portable gaming device. In his peripheral vision, Soul watched as she handed it over to the blue-haired young man behind them.

"Black Star," Soul said, not even removing his earphones or turning down his music, "if you break that, you're buying me a new one."

Things on the plane finally quieted down after the ninja began playing his friend's videogame. His ranting had turned into quiet, childish giggles. Even Kid had quieted down. Liz had finally managed that by pulling out Patty's drawing kit, and ordering her boyfriend to draw her portrait in a perfectly symmetrical fashion.

A wave of relief soon swept over the passengers, and people began dozing off. Maka, too, soon joined the ranks of the sleepy, and curled up against Soul's side comfortably.

When the group finally arrived at their destination, they were enthusiastically greeted by Soul's mother, Annabelle, and his elder brother, Wes. Annabelle took turns hugging all of the newcomers, and she also kissed the cheeks of all four girls and her youngest son. Wes greeted each of the boys with high fives, shot all of the girls winks, and greeted Maka with a friendly hug.

As the female meister pulled away from the elder Evan's brother, her eyes flew straight to her partner. Soul's ruby orbs were locked onto another figure that hung back in the shadows a short ways away. Her partner's entire body was stiff and tense, and his face wore a look of powerful mixed emotions. Maka slowly approached her weapon, and gently linked her arm through his.

"Soul, what the matter?" she asked quietly, but before he could answer, the figure slipped into the light.

The man that slinked forward was slightly taller than both Soul and Wes. He had the same bleach white hair as the two brothers. He wore an expensive, probably designer, black suit, with the tie loosened and the top two buttons unhooked. His maroon dress shirt was tucked in, though slightly sloppily. He wore stylish and modern black-rimmed glasses, and was clean shaven, making him appear a bit younger than he probably was. His piercing indigo colored eyes flickered to meet Maka's, and a shiver ran down her spine. He cautiously approached the pair, analyzing every inch of the young blonde woman, frowning all the while. Finally, he turned his attention back to Soul.

"Soul," the man said stiffly, in a gruff baritone voice that very closely resembled Soul's own.

Her partner's crimson eyes narrowed, and he replied gruffly, "Dad."

"I take it _this_," his father said, nodding his head toward Maka,"is your girl."

Before her partner could respond, Maka smiled brightly at the man in front of her, offering a handshake. "Yes sir, my name is Maka Albarn. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Evans."

He glimpsed briefly at her hand, backing away just a fraction of an inch. He mumbled an incoherent reply, and completely disregarded her outstretched hand. His eye then quickly travelled behind the pair in front of him, and latched onto his wife's back.

"Why is your mother taking so damn long over there? She can chat in the fucking car. She _knows_ I hate crowded places like this."

His son scowled at him. "Then why the hell did you even bother to show up?" Soul's voice was dripping with venom, "You could've stayed locked up in your fucking studio for all I care. C'mon Maka," He then laced their fingers together and dragged her back to where their friends were happily chatting away.

When she glanced back, the older man's face was blank and expressionless, and he began to slink away, leaving the airport terminal. Maka felt a combination of pity and anger begin to simmer inside of her.

"Soul, why did you-"

"Not now, Maka," he growled, cutting her off. She glared at her partner, but deep down she knew that both Soul and his father were responsible for their own behavior and for the animosity between each other.

Finally, their group began to move. Annabelle's loose golden locks swished around as she searched the room for her husband.

"Soul, darling, where did your father go?"

Their friends all appeared confused. Apparently they hadn't even noticed the presence of the eldest Evans man.

The youngest Evans merely shrugged. "I dunno, maybe he left already."

His mother pursed her lips worriedly, and she whipped out her cell phone. Her delicate fingers flitted across the screen of her shiny iPhone as she texted. When the phone buzzed at her a moment later, she smiled with relief.

"He's waiting outside in the limo."

"Wait... did you just say _limo?_" Black Star asked, his eyes beginning to sparkle with excitement.

Annabelle giggled. "Yes! We wanted to show you kids the town in style before you settled into your new apartments. Are you ready?"

"Hell yeah!" screamed the assassin, as the Thompson sisters cheered gleefully behind him.

When they arrived outside, they immediately spotted the large Hummer limousine, and the three most enthusiastic members of their group immediately bounded towards it. Tsubaki sprinted after them, shouting for them to be careful and watch where they were running. Kid smiled as he calmly strode after them, ready to help them all get their luggage into the back of the car. Maka tugged Soul's hand, and they and Wes walked together, quickly catching up so they could help Kid and the others with the luggage.

In her peripheral vision, Maka noticed that Annabelle had left the group of kids to talk to her husband. He was seated directly behind the driver, and had rolled down his window specifically so he could talk to his wife. Even in her magnificent stilettos, Annabelle had to stand on her tiptoes to reach to the height of her husband's face inside of the vehicle. Her hands were gently woven through one of his on the edge of the door where the window was no longer present, and her crimson eyes stared into his dark blue ones worriedly. Unaware that he was being watched, Mr. Evans leaned out the window just enough to give his wife a quick kiss on the forehead, before retreating back inside and rolling the window up once more.

In that moment, Maka _knew_ that Soul's father wasn't as heartless as her partner seemed to think. She knew that she had done the right thing in choosing to come to New York City. She knew it wouldn't be easy, because Soul still had so much pent up resentment toward his father, but she knew it could be done. Her partner could heal his childhood wounds, and they could all be a family.

Maka's mood lifted, and once all of their luggage was settled into the back of the car, she climbed inside of the tall limousine, with her frowning partner directly behind her. Before allowing him inside, she twirled around, kissing him swiftly on the lips. When she pulled away, she playfully winked at him, and watched as his frown reversed, turning into his trademark toothy smirk.

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><p>~end chapter 1<p>

This chapter's a little short, since it's just the intro, but let me know what you guys think! :D

Oh, and I'm going to be putting my Music minor to good use by creating chapter titles using musical terms ;3

_Poco a poco = _little by little, bit by bit


	2. Chapter 2

**Falling Into Places**

by _PuppyNoelle_

Description: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. They must learn how to survive in the hectic world of college life, part-time jobs, self-doubt, and cunning high-class nemeses. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.

A/N: Hello again my beloveds! I bring you chapter 2 of FIP!

I did have one reviewer ask if there was going to be a KidxLiz lemon in this fic, and I wanted to answer that with complete honesty: I don't know! This part of the series _is_ more group-centric, so I've toyed with the idea, but only time will tell whether or not I actually go with it.

And I'll be posting chapter 3 very soon, since these two chapters are a two-parter. :3

Love, Ash~

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><p>Chapter 2: <em>Decrescendo Part I: Fortissimo<em>

Maka closed her eyes as the wind whipped through her long, blonde pigtails. The feel of the breeze on this hot, humid, August afternoon in New York City felt amazing. Only, the feeling didn't last. The limo suddenly screeched to a halt, sending her head flying back inside of the extra-long Hummer.

"Ow! _Dammit!_" Black Star wailed as his own head smacked into the roof of the vehicle, where he had been perched, sticking out from the top of the sun roof.

Horns blared all around them, and their driver was yelling and cursing at the bright yellow cab in front of them, who had suddenly halted to pick up some customers off the street. Liz, Soul and Wes laughed as Tsubaki pulled her boyfriend down from the sun roof, and gently rubbed the injured spot on his head. Soul draped a single arm over his meister's shoulder protectively as he continued to laugh at his best friend's clumsiness.

Across from them, the normally hyper and cheerful Patty looked as if she were about to pass out at any second. Maka used her book to fan herself.

"_Why_ is it so _hot_ here? The temperature's what? Ninety-two? We just came here from the _desert_, so why does it feel hotter here?"

"It's called humidity, Maka," her partner replied from beside her. "Mom, what's the humidity level today?"

Annabelle whipped out her phone and flicked around on the screen. "Almost sixty-percent," she replied, sighing. "Well, it's probably a good idea if we close up these windows and turn the air on now that Black Star is done playing with the sun roof."

"Yes... Please..." Patty whimpered. Her elder sister sympathetically patted the top of her head.

"Graham, honey," Annabelle said to her husband, whose suit jacket and tie were now lazily thrown over the headrest of his seat, "would you please turn around and tell the driver to turn the air on. I'll take care of the windows."

Mr. Evans nodded curtly, and knocked on the partition separating the front seats from the rest of the limousine. The driver rolled it down, and the platinum-haired man quietly mumbled the instructions to the other man. The driver nodded, and the moment all of the windows and the sun roof were closed, everyone was greeted by the refreshing rush of cold air. There was a relieved chorus of "Ahhh"s from the entire circle of seats.

Soul, who was right beside the mini-bar, reached inside and pulled out the last bottle of water and tossed it over to the eldest Thompson sister, who caught it gracefully. Liz screwed open the cap, and propped her younger sister up, handing her the cold bottle.

"So Mom," the youngest Evans spoke up again, "Did my bike make it here okay?"

"Oh yes darling," the eldest blonde woman replied, "It turns out your building has underground parking, so we got a few parking spaces for you kids to use. The building Kid chose is very lovely, and has so many handy features like that that are difficult to come by here! At first I was worried that we'd have to store your bike in the car storage facility where our cars are, but that's all the way uptown, so it really wouldn't be useful if you had to take a cab up whenever you wanted to use it!"

"Cool," Soul replied smoothly, leaning back and comfortably snuggling into Maka's side.

"Also," Annabelle continued, "We got you a graduation present that we've stored down in the garage, too. When we drop you kids off at the apartment, we'll take a quick detour down there first before we leave you kids alone."

Soul's crimson eyes flickered to the childish grin upon his mother's face. "You _didn't_!"

"Yep, she _did_," his brother replied, grinning toothily at him. "Of course, it's not as fancy as my Saab, since we know that you prefer to be more conservative with your spending. And it's a V6 instead of a V8, so you won't have to pay as much for gas."

The young scythe's face was torn between utter joy, and annoyance at his family buying him, _yet another_ expensive thing that he didn't need. The joy happened to be winning _that_ particular battle. Finally, he attempted to put on his poker face, and curiously asked, "What model is it?"

His mother grinned wickedly. "You have to wait until we get there. We're heading towards downtown now, so it won't be too much longer."

It took him a minute, but Black Star finally pieced two and two together. "_Dude_, you're getting a fucking car! Hell yeah!" he cheered

Soul's foot tapped in jittery anticipation as the limo finally pulled up to their new apartment building.

"Here we are!" Annabelle announced gleefully. The driver exited the front cabin, and came around to open the door by Maka and Soul.

Maka stepped out first, and took in the sight of the beautiful modern architecture in front of her. The building was probably at least a dozen stories high, and each floor had massive windows and small balconies attached.

"Wow..." the female meister breathed, taking in the simplistic beauty of the architecture.

Soul hopped out right behind her, lightly tapping her ass with his hand as he came over to join her. He smirked at her. "I guess you like it, then?"

Her emerald orbs filled with excitement. "Yes! I just can't wait to see the inside!"

Her partner chuckled as they were quickly joined by the rest of their companions. Annabelle quickly grabbed her husband's hand and led the way inside the building. She cheerfully greeted the doorman, who smiled and replied to her by name. Apparently she had already spent quite a bit of time there preparing the apartments.

Once inside, all of the newcomers began looking around in awe. The entrance hall was large and open, with a large lounge area off to the side that was filled with tables, chairs, and sofas. Maka spied a small bar tucked back into the corner, most hidden from view by the walls separating it from the lounge area. On the other half of the (symmetrical) grand entrance hall was a mostly solid wall that had a couple large windows that were the same size and shape as the archways into the lounge area. They peered inside the first window to find a decent sized swimming pool, with a several people inside making use of it. Six jaws dropped.

"Wait, we have a _pool?_" Maka whispered in awe.

"Well, yes," Kid replied from behind her. "_I _chose the building, and I wanted to have some nice amenities. There's also a small fitness center further down with exercise equipment. If you think it's too much, blame Black Star. He's the one who wanted to get an apartment in the same building."

Said ninja was grinning from ear-to-ear.

"This place is like a twenty-first century _palace_..." Maka whispered.

"Well it's not like you four will be living in the _penthouse_ or anything," the young Shinigami continued, "The girls and I claimed that apartment."

Liz and Patty both froze where they stood, jaws nearly hitting the floor as they stared at their meister.

"Ho-ly _shit!_" the elder sister finally managed to spit out. A goofy grin slowly formed on her face and she leaped at her obsessive-compulsive boyfriend. Her arms latched around his neck, and she kissed him fervently.

"Get a _room_!" Black Star hollered. Kid immediately flushed, and Liz parted from him, laughing.

Annabelle continued on, taking them down the hallway by the pool. They passed the security office on their right, and reached the fitness center on their left. They peered inside through another pair of large windows. Finally, they reached an elevator and set of stairs at the very back of the building.

"You kids can reach the garage only from this elevator and set of stairs. This elevator reaches all floors, except the penthouse, so Kid, girls, if you ever get a vehicle, then you'll need to go down a floor to get access to this elevator."

All three of them nodded in understanding. In front of them, Soul was now itching to go down and see his graduation present.

When they exited the elevator, Soul's red orbs immediately scanned the area, searching for his bright orange motorcycle. His mother and father led them to the opposite end of the garage, and just beyond a large SUV, Soul's bike came into view, followed by a sleek, black, brand new Ford Mustang convertible.

The scythe-man approached the car with reverence. Black Star and Kid followed him, and the trio circled the car, examining every inch of it silently.

"It's a V6 you said?" Soul finally said, after making his full turn around the car.

"Yep," his brother replied, grinning.

"The 3.7 liter, 305 horsepower, automatic transmission?"

"Yes."

"With voice activated navigation, satellite radio, rearview camera, and security system?"

"Yes."

"Leather interior?"

"Yes."

Soul peered into the tinted windows, trying to see what he could of the interior. Finally, he backed away from the car and assumed his typical slouchy posture, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his cargo shorts.

A simple "Cool," escaped his lips, and Wes approached, pulling the keys out of a pocket and dangling them in front of his brother's face. Soul eyed the keys for a brief moment, then snatched them out of his brother's hands, immediately unlocking the car with the keyfob. He ran around to the driver's side, and threw himself into the front seat.

"I call shotgun!" Black Star shouted at the top of his lungs, wrenching open the passenger side door while Soul found the controls for the convertible top.

Once the top was all the way down, Kid climbed into the back seat behind Soul, and the girls finally approached the car. Black Star began fiddling with the stereo and GPS while Soul examined the steering wheel in front of him, looking for the placement of all the controls. Maka leaned over Black Star's door, and popped open the glove box. A moment later, she extracted the owner's manual and immediately opened the cover and began reading it.

Suddenly country music began blaring from the speakers, and there was a loud smack as Soul whacked Black Star's arm. "Yo! Black Star! Quit fucking with the stereo! With my luck, you're gonna end up breaking it and getting it stuck on this station forever!"

"Hey! I can't help it! I'm just trying to figure out how it works!"

"I don't give a shit! Back seat! Now!"

"WHY? Nobody else is sitting here!"

Maka's boyfriend pointed at her. "Maka! You're shotgun. Just get Black Star outta my hair. Maka-chop him if you have to."

The female meister grinned evilly at her blue-haired friend, holding the owner's manual threateningly in her hand.

"Okay fine!" the assassin wailed, defeated, as he climbed into the back seat beside Kid. He pouted as Tsubaki gently leaned over the side, trying to placate him. Liz and Patty also hopped into the back seat. Patty squeezed in between the two males, while her sister perched on her boyfriend's lap, stretching her legs out over her sister's.

Wes approached, grinning, and leaned over Soul's door, showing his brother the controls that he hadn't yet figured out. From the manual, Maka quickly figured out how everything on the console worked, and explained it all to her weapon, after he finished learning the driving controls. They finally changed the radio station to one playing all popular music, and Soul finally felt confident enough to take the car for a short test drive through the parking garage. He drove slowly, not going above fifteen miles per hour inside, but Black Star and Patty still whooped and cheered from the back seat all the same.

"Dude, Soul, can I drive?" Black Star asked after his hollering ended.

"Hell no! You failed your driving test _five times_ before you finally passed! If you wanna drive, you're buying your own wheels! The only other person who's allowed to drive this baby is Maka. She passed her test _perfectly_. I know _she's_ not gonna wreck it."

His girlfriend twirled around in her seat and stuck her tongue out at the ninja as the car pulled into the parking spot once more. Beside her, Soul unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door.

"Care to take it for a spin, my lady?" Soul asked in a playfully mocking voice as he hopped out of the car.

Maka laughed, and scooted over into the driver's seat in his place. Black Star mumbled grumpily from the backseat as Soul closed the door to the passenger's side. Once her partner was buckled in, Maka moved the gear shift into "Drive" and released the brake pedal. She put just a tiny bit of pressure on the gas pedal, and the car glided forward. She steered them flawlessly around the curves of the parking garage, even daring to go slightly faster than her partner had.

"Showoff," her scythe muttered as he leaned over her shoulder, watching the speedometer. She merely grinned as she smoothly navigated the car back into its spot.

Once they had finished playing with the new car, everyone finally returned to the limousine and retrieved their luggage. They all met in front of the main elevator block, where Annabelle handed off the apartment keys to everyone. Kid and the Thompsons entered the first elevator, while the others said goodbye to the older members of the Evans' family.

"Thanks for the car, guys," Soul said, looking at his mother and brother, but refusing to meet his father's gaze. "It's very cool."

"You're very welcome darling. I don't really know how much use you kids will get out of it here, but I know how much you and your brother are fascinated by sporty vehicles like that." She paused momentarily so that she could hug Soul and Maka once again. "Well, enjoy the apartment kids!" she said cheerfully as she pulled away. "The furniture you already had still wasn't quite enough to fill the whole apartment, so I added a few more furnishings. Go, enjoy. I hope you kids feel right at home here. And don't forget: you're apartment is 12B!"

"12B, got it, Mom," the white-haired weapon replied, stuffing his set of keys into his pocket.

The quartet waved goodbye as they entered the elevator. Tsubaki pressed the button marked "12", which happened to be just below the button marked "PH", where their other friends were.

"Damn," Soul said, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back against the cool metal elevator railing, "If our apartment is up near the top of the building, then it must be ridiculously nice. I should've _known_ Mom would pull that shit."

"I dunno what _you're_ complaining about Soul!" Black Star piped in, "If I had parents as rich as yours, I'd be living it UP! I dunno _why_ you and Maka ever lived in that tiny _dump_ back home! Why live in such a small place if you can afford better?"

The platinum-haired man sighed wearily. "I know that _you'd_ be living large in a heartbeat if you could, but Black Star, I don't want all that. I grew up with that shit, and I've been there, done that. I just wanna be someplace where I can chill and be comfortable. Our old place may have been small, but it had _character_, man. I could unwind there, easy."

"Speaking of 'unwinding'," Maka chimed in, "You remember all of our roommate rules, Black Star? About not breaking things, and about keeping _quiet_?"

"Yeah, yeah, bookworm. You've bludgeoned them into my head enough times, _I got it_."

"Good," she said, satisfied, just as the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival on the twelfth floor. Once they left the elevator, they found that there were only a total of four doors in the hallway, and they quickly found that 12B was the second door on their right. Soul dug the keys out of his pocket and stuck the one of the apartment door into the lock. The locked released, and he slowly pushed the door inward to unveil their new apartment.

* * *

><p>~end chapter 2<p>

_Decrescendo = a gradual drop in volume from loud to soft_

_Fortissimo = very loud_


	3. Chapter 3

**Falling Into Places**

by _PuppyNoelle_

Description: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. They must learn how to survive in the hectic world of college life, part-time jobs, self-doubt, and cunning high-class nemeses. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.

A/N: Yay! Chapter 3! This one is short, since I'm posting 2 & 3 at the same time. :3 I thought about combining them both into one, but I really wanted that little break at the end of chapter 2. Gosh, is it just me or do my updates seem slower? Well, I guess between picking up more hours at my job and working on my novel as well, it makes sense that fanfics would slide a little... but hey, I've got about 5000 words for you guys today XD

Love, Ash~

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: <em>Decrescendo Part II: Piano<em>

Soul, Maka, Black Star, and Tsubaki all gasped when they looked inside of the spacious apartment. The door opened directly into the living area, which was filled with the combination of the old chairs and couches from both of their previous apartments. The larger television, Soul and Maka's, would have been the centerpiece of the room, if it weren't for the beautiful, black, grand piano placed on a simple rug atop the light, hardwood floors.

Soul gravitated toward the instrument and shakily reached out a single hand, running his fingers delicately over all eighty-eight keys. When he looked above the keys, he noticed a small screen, and dozens of buttons, arranged neatly in the black wood.

"It's digital," he breathed. His crimson eyes flickered over two USB ports, confirming his findings. He pressed down on a single key, Middle C, knowing full well that no sound would come out.

"Dude, I think it's broken," Black Star said, peeking over his best friend's shoulder.

"No, it's not," Soul replied, removing his finger from the key and pressing on the power button.

"Whoa!" the assassin yelped, as words appeared on the screen above the keyboard.

Soul pressed the key again, and the tone rang from the speakers that were built into the wooden case.

"_Cool_..." Black Star cooed, peering down to find out where the speakers were located. But before he could find all of the speakers, Soul had released the note and turned the instrument off once again.

The male weapon carefully closed the cover over the keys and screen to protect them. He still wasn't ready yet. This was the first time that he had even _touched_ a real keyboard since he and Maka had first become partners. He definitely wasn't ready to play with his friends around to bear witness. Soul stuffed his tanned hands into his pockets and turned his back to the instrument.

"C'mon, let's check out the rest of the apartment."

Everyone else followed him as he padded into the rest of the living area. Encircling Soul and Maka's old entertainment center were brand new furniture pieces. They now had a large, black leather sectional sofa with a matching loveseat perpendicular on one side, and a matching lounge chair on the other side. Just beyond the entertainment area was another large open space where Black Star and Tsubaki's small, traditional Japanese-style dining table was set up with the matching mats. It was laid out with a matching black and gold tea set neatly arranged on top. Along the same wall as the entertainment center was a massive ebony bookshelf that was currently empty, save for a few decorative pieces. On the opposite wall there was an elegant black chaise lounge.

The monumental windows were covered by sheer maroon panels. Maka quickly found a switch in the corner and pressed it. The richly colored panels began part by themselves, gradually soaking the room in glorious sunlight.

"Wow..." Tsubaki whispered in awe. The removed curtains revealed a large glass door and behind it was a small, but wide balcony. There was a tiny wrought iron table outside with two matching chairs flanking its sides. The ebony-haired weapon strode forward, unlocked the glass door, and stepped outside. her three companions quickly followed suit, and they all relished in the feel of the cool breeze on their skin.

"This view is incredible," Maka said as she bravely leaned on the elegantly sculpted concrete ledge.

"Yeah, it is," her partner agreed. He tucked two fingers through the center belt loop on the back of her shorts, and gently tugged her back from the edge.

When they reentered the living area, they noticed that the kitchen opened right into it. A few feet away from the piano stood Soul and Maka's old kitchen table and chairs, and just beyond that were beautiful black and white granite countertops, white wood cabinetry, and brand new stainless steel appliances. It was so spacious that Maka and Tsubaki could easily cook two different meals at the same time.

Across from the kitchen and adjacent to the living area was the first bathroom. Inside it had white marbled floors, and cabinetry that matched that of the kitchen. The white double sinks matched the floor, and the large glass encased shower-tub combination was the same shade of the countertops.

"I guess this is Black Star and Tsubaki's bathroom then," Maka mumbled, dazed by the elegant simplicity of the design.

Down the hall, there were three doors: one beside the bathroom, one across the hall from that, and one final door at the very end of the hall. The entered the first room, beside the bathroom. Inside the spacious room were all of Black Star and Tsubaki's belongings. There was queen sized, wooden platform bed placed across from the entrance, and off to the side were Black Star and Tsubaki's old living room furniture and entertainment center.

"Whoa..." the blue-haired ninja said, bounding inside and throwing himself upon the couch, "This room is like the same size as our old bedroom _and_ living room combined! _Awesome!_"

Tsubaki smiled adoringly at her partner, "Black Star, aren't you going to check out the other two rooms?"

"Ehh, maybe later," he replied. He was already reaching for his Xbox controller.

The other three crossed the hall and opened the second door. This room was about half the size of Black Star and Tsubaki's room, but it still managed to hold quite a bit of furniture. This was intended to be the office. The wall opposite the door held two desks: one belonged to Maka, and the other to Tsubaki. Since there were no windows in the room, there were several light fixtures there filling the space with white, artificial light. Maka's old bookcase stood, centered, between the two desks. The wall to their left was decorated with one of Soul and Maka's old sofas and a coffee table. The opposite wall held Maka's old, twin-sized bed. There was a small closet door there, too, as well as Maka's old nightstand.

Finally, the trio exited that room, and followed the path to the door at the end of the hall: the master suite. Soul twisted the handle and pushed open the door. The room inside was just a little bit larger than Black Star and Tsubaki's. Off to their left was the door to the master bath, and to their right was the rest of the room. The wall on the far right matched the grand windows of the living room. Each window had the same wine-colored draperies as the living area. The area by the large windows was accented by Soul and Maka's second couch, and another chaise lounge, this time in a dark chocolate brown to match the couch, was placed in the corner between the windowed wall and the entrance wall. Beside the door was Soul's desk. His guitar decorated the space above the desk, and his posters were all neatly arranged along the same wall.

At the heart of the space was Soul's recently acquired red and black queen-sized bed. There were two tall windows spaced out evenly on either side of the bed. The most stunning visual in the whole room, however, was the sheer crimson canopy that hung from the ceiling, and over the entire area of the bed. It was tied off at each corner by thick, red, velvety ribbons.

"Wow... Soul, it's beautiful!" Maka exclaimed, dashing toward the bed. She leapt onto it, giggling and laughing as she took in the beautiful visuals around her. "It's like a freaking _fairytale!_" she cried between laughs. Her laughter soon took on a slightly deranged tone. "This is _way_ too good to be true! Just wait, we're all going to wake up tomorrow and this apartment is going to magically transform into a really shitty, one bedroom, and Black Star will wake us all up by bouncing up and down on the couch yelling at the videogames!"

Soul and Tsubaki both blinked at her, slightly exasperated.

"Um... Maka," her female companion said worriedly, "Are you okay?"

The meister's laughter died down slightly, but the look on her face spoke volumes about how she actually felt. It was a fantasy. It _had_ to be.

"Maka," her lover said, climbing onto the bed beside her. "This is _real_," he said very seriously, taking her hand and looking her straight in the eyes.

"Besides," he continued, this time in his typical sarcastic manner, "if it _were_ some lame-ass fairytale, then it sure as hell wouldn't have _this _color-scheme. This room looks much closer to Nightmare Before Christmas than Cinderella."

This brought Maka back to her senses. She giggled once again before sighing contentedly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. So this is really it, huh? This is where we're going to live for the next four years?"

"Yep," he replied, leaning back onto the pillows. "_This_ is home."

Tsubaki smiled at the pair, and silently slunk out of the room, closing the door, just as silently, behind her.

Maka curled up against her partner's side, settling her head into the crook of his neck. "So, should we go and get the rest of our luggage out of the living room, then?"

"In a minute," he replied lazily, "Right now, I just wanna chill."

* * *

><p>~end chapter 3<p>

_Decrescendo = a gradual drop in volume from loud to soft_

_Piano(1) _= short for _pianoforte_; a percussive instrument, which generates sound from tiny hammers hitting steel strings when the white or black keys are pressed down on the keyboard; to date, it is still one of the most popular instruments throughout the world.

_Piano(2)_ = soft; quiet volume.


	4. Chapter 4

**Falling Into Places**

by _PuppyNoelle_

Description: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. They must learn how to survive in the hectic world of college life, part-time jobs, self-doubt, and cunning high-class nemeses. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.

A/N: First off, I want to thank everybody who has continued to read and review my stories! I really appreciate it everyone! :3

Second, I wanted to apologize to you guys for the extremely long wait. The past couple months have been insanely busy and stressful for me (finishing college, total upheavals at work, among other frustrating things). It's been very difficult for me to sit down and write, since I haven't actually been at home for much other than sleeping. So as the pace of my RL increases, my fanfic updates will still be slow. I won't be able to update once or twice a week like I used to, but perhaps I can make it once a month. After I complete this story, I probably won't be posting any more multi-chapter SE fics, just one shots. I don't plan to disappear completely though. I still adore my SE folks :3

And no naughty things yet. Sorry guys ;P

Love, Ash~

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: <em>Ostinato<em>

Maka, Soul, and Kid's first day at NYU turned out to be hot, humid, and blindingly sunny. The August sun beat down upon Maka's almost bare shoulders oppressively, and the stickiness of the air was tempting the tiny beads of sweat forming on her brow to drip. The trio had arrived on campus bright and early at eight o'clock (upon Kid's insistence) in the morning, and the heat had only grown worse since. It was good that they had arrived so early, because they found that the student parking spaces had begun to fill up only about fifteen minutes after they arrived. Now, at eleven-thirty am, there wasn't an open parking space in sight.

The trio had just finished exploring the campus, finding all of their classrooms, and eating their first on-campus lunch. They walked back to the car to drop off the textbooks that they had just purchased, and wouldn't be using that day. Just as Soul was locking the vehicle, a small, green pick-up truck approached them. The young man inside rolled down his window and asked, "Hey guys! You leaving?"

Kid peered around the other two. "No, sorry. We were just dropping off our textbooks."

Maka stared blankly as the truck drove away, slowly weaving through the aisles full of cars.

"That was _weird_."

Soul shrugged, "He was just looking for a parking space. I saw him start coming over here from the other side the minute we entered the lot."

"Okay, how come _I_ didn't notice?"

"Maybe because you were too busy sticking your nose inside of _Imaginative Writing Third Edition by Janet Burroway,_" he replied smoothly, reading the book cover from over her shoulder.

She instinctively clutched the textbook closer to her chest and pouted. "Shut up Soul. This is my first college class, and it never hurts to get a head start!"

He merely chuckled in reply and draped an arm around her shoulders. "Whatever you say, love. So..." he redirected his attention to Kid, "Are we still meeting up between classes?"

"Yes," Kid replied, "Since that was our original plan, it would be wise to stick to it."

"Alright," Soul responded, "so then I guess you and Maka are headed to the Liberal Arts building, and I'm off the the Music building then, eh?"

"Yep," his meister replied cheerily, "So we'll see you later, then."

"Mmk," her scythe mumbled before giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Later guys," he said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, and turning to walk in the opposite direction.

* * *

><p><em>Bzzzzt. Bzzzt, bzzzt!<em> Kid's cell phone vibrated loudly enough for Maka to hear as the pair walked towards the Liberal Arts building.

Curiously, she inquired after the sender. "Hey Kid, who keeps texting you?"

He sighed, and pulled his iPhone out of his pocket. "Liz."

"Didn't she _just _text you while we were eating lunch? _And_ while we were driving to school?"

"Yes," her fellow meister replied. "She's been doing that a _lot_ lately."

"Why? You guys live together, so it's not like she doesn't get to see you."

"Perhaps that's a question best posed to _her_. I certainly don't understand it." Her black-and-white haired companion frowned, then changed the subject, "Look, we're almost to the building. Let's hurry so that we can get to our classes exactly eight minutes early."

"Oh, okay," Maka said, falling for the distraction, and picking up her stride to match his.

* * *

><p>Just as Kid had predicted, Maka arrived at her classroom exactly eight minutes early. The room was completely deserted, and not even the teacher had arrived yet. The room was organized in an very odd manner. It looked more like a conference room than a classroom. There were four tables which were all pushed together to create a single large one in the center of the room, and there were about twenty large and comfortable-looking office chairs arranged around the 'table'. The young woman strolled over to the opposite side of the room from the door, and chose a seat in front of the window. As she sat down in the over-sized cushiony chair, she immediately soaked in the glorious feeling of comfort. This was <em>so<em> much better than the classrooms at Shibusen!

As she pulled out a notebook and popped open her textbook again, more students gradually crept into the room. By the time noon finally hit, there were only a total of seven other students in the room. Everyone was dead silent. As they chose their seats, some people pulled out laptops, while others pulled out books. No one spoke at all. It looked like no one knew anyone else. However, this did not surprise Maka as much, since there was such a variance of ages scattered around the room, that all of the people must have come from varying backgrounds. One woman looked as if she were in her forties. She wore a business suit and carried a large leather briefcase. She had her lunch, a sub and a Diet Coke, spread out on the table before her. She must be taking classes on her lunch breaks from work. Most of the students, however, were dressed for the weather: in tanks and tees, with various types of shorts.

Finally, at exactly 12:03 pm, the professor entered. Though, he wasn't exactly what Maka was expecting. He was an average-sized black man, wearing a newsboy cap, heavily stylized, short-sleeve button-up shirt, and baggy dark denim cargo shorts. When he entered the room he immediately threw on a wide, white grin, and greeted the class. He swiftly flung his camo-green messenger bag onto the table at the front of the classroom and began pulling out his books. Sure, Maka had seen a teacher dressed casually before, Sid had always dressed rather like a basketball player, but this guy dressed like a _teenager_. And the fact that he was _late_ on the first day of class drove her a bit crazy and- was he seriously _slouching in his chair?_ He instantly reminded her of Kilik, and she really wasn't sure how to handle that. This was going to be an... _interesting_ creative writing class...

* * *

><p>A couple of hours, and a few (very fun) writing exercises later, Maka found her way to the floor of the library where she was supposed to meet Soul and Kid. She had happily managed to start talking about the Harry Potter novels with another girl, named Amy, who was just as enthusiastic about the series as Maka was. The petite brunette chirped along, happily following the blonde wherever she went. It turned out that Amy was only a few months older than Soul, and was a freshman in the English department, just like Maka.<p>

About twenty minutes after she and Amy found their seats, Maka saw her partner's white-blonde head slowly emerging up the nearby stairway. It turned out that he had also brought along a follower. Although, Soul's follower appeared to be talking more _at_ Soul than _with_ him. The, flamboyantly gay, young man was golden blonde, with precisely spiked, short hair, skin-tight jeans, and a fitted t-shirt that was probably intended for a woman. When Soul rounded the corner and saw Maka, he smirked and sauntered over to her. He placed a swift kiss to her lips before plopping down into the empty chair beside her.

"Hey Maka, this is Isaac. He's in my Music Theory class, and it turns out he's taking voice lessons from my mom, too." Her partner sounded as if he honestly couldn't care less about Isaac's existence, but he still had the proper manners, and introduced him.

The meister reach out a hand, which Isaac enthusiastically accepted and shook.

"Ah," the young man said in a high tenor voice, "So _you're_ the infamous Maka! Annabelle has spoken very highly of you since she came back from visiting you all this spring! When she said you two were moving here to go to NYU, I could hardly wait to meet you! And, lo and behold, I happen to have two classes with Soul!"

Soul, on the other hand, looked completely _un_enthused. Maka inwardly rolled her eyes at her weapon, and introduced Amy. Once everyone was through with the pleasantries, Maka inquired after Soul's first class.

Her love shrugged. "It was okay. The teacher seemed pretty cool, and it's Music Theory 1, so it's gonna be a piece of cake class. The only annoying thing were these two girls who sat behind us. They kept whispering the whole damn time."

Isaac added, "Yes, they were quite pretty, one in a Dior sundress, and the other mixed and matched some Prada capris with a Betsey Johnson top. Quite a risk if you ask me, but she worked it well-"

"What were their names?" Amy asked inquisitively.

"Oh~" the blonde man replied, "Um... Sophia LeBeau was the brunette, and Isabelle Faire was the one with black hair."

"Dude, how the hell can you keep track of that shit?" Soul interrupted in his usual gruff manner, "I don't think I'd even be able to recognize them if they were here standing right in front of us."

Isaac was about to retort, but the look on Amy's face spoke volumes. "What?" he asked instead.

"Those two girl are _trouble_," she replied. "They're two of the most cunning boyfriend stealers I've ever met. I went to prep school with them."

"Did they ever steal one of your boyfriends?" Maka asked curiously.

Amy shook her head. "Nope. I was one of the nerds, so none of my boyfriends were ever cool enough for their crowd. But she _did_ steal away a boyfriend from one of my friends that was actually in the "in crowd". It wasn't pretty."

All three looked ominously at Soul, who looked as if he had sunk into his chair in boredom.

"What?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders, "You guys don't _seriously_ think those chicks are gonna come onto _me_? Maka's practically the nerdiest girlfriend in the world- and don't give me that look, you _know_ you're a total geek- and besides, I'm not some typical, lame-ass rich dude."

"Honey," Isaac said, "you are a prime rib on the stud-muffin scale. It doesn't matter if you had a girlfriend who was a _hundreth_ of Maka's fierceness-" Maka beamed at the compliment: she was _definitely_ going to like their new gay friend. "-but anybody would fall for that mysterious, bad-boy vibe you've got going on. _I'd_ fuck you... if you weren't straight, of course."

"Psh... whatever..." Soul replied, sinking even further into the chair. "It doesn't even matter anyways. Maka'll kick their asses so hard they'll end up in Siberia, sore for a week."

Maka snickered at the imagery, and Amy and Isaac both laughed.

Just then, Kid rounded the corner. The look he wore on his face was one of exasperation. As he approached the table, he looked at Soul and Maka pleadingly. "Liz just texted me _eight times_ within the past two hours!"

Soul snickered, "Eight times? I figured you'd be happy about that."

The young reaper shook his head and sighed. "Well, since it was _eight_ times, I'll overlook it this time, but the point is that I was _in class!_ Thankfully my phone was on vibrate, but she _has_ a copy of my schedule, so she should have _known_ I was too busy to respond!"

Soul shrugged. "Just don't make a big deal out of it, man. She'll prolly stop once it all becomes routine. Here, sit down and meet Isaac and Amy."

Each person waved in turn, and introductions were made. The five continued to chat until each went their separate ways for their second classes that day.

* * *

><p>As Soul, Maka, and Kid finally arrived at their apartment complex, after being stuck in evening rush hour traffic for nearly <em>two hours<em>, they were all ready to _crash_. Maka leaned drowsily on her partner's shoulder as they both said their goodbyes to Kid. And, just as the reaper walked into the elevator going to his floor, his techno ringtone filled the hallway. The young shinigami stared down at the screen grumpily before he finally answered it.

"I'm _almost_ home, Liz. I'm coming up the elevator right now," he grumbled into the receiver. His frown deepened. "We hit rush hour traffic! I can't help it!" He paused again as he listened. "Whatever. I'll be up in a minute," he said, jabbing his finger angrily onto the touch screen to end the call. He jammed his index finger onto the elevator buttons, but he still caught the pitying glances form his two friends before the door could close.

"Maka," Soul said wearily.

"What?" His girlfriend asked in a matching exhausted tone.

"Please don't _ever_ do that to me."

She snorted. "_Please_. We both know _you're_ the one of us more likely to be all over-protective like that."

"True," he replied. For once he was too worn out to be snarky. "Let's crash."

"You got it."

* * *

><p>"Hey Soul!" Maka knocked on their bedroom door in an attempt to wake her sleeping partner.<p>

She heard a gruff grunt from the other side of the door. "I'm sleeping Maka. Go away."

"We just got mail," she said, ignoring his response and opening the door regardless, "and we got a party invitation from Annabelle."

This attracted his attention. He pulled the soft sheets off his face and frowned. "Oh _great_. We've just gotten through our first week of classes, and she's already making us go to some fancy-ass party."

Maka sat down on the bed beside him, and shoved the invitation into his face. "Oh don't be so cynical. It sounds like a lot of fun! It looks like she's rented out some space for it, so there will probably be a lot of people there! We can probably do some networking!"

Her lover sighed, shoving away the hand that held the paper. "Okay, first off, I _am_ cynical. And second, you _would_ think of it as a business opportunity. Mom just wants to show us off, that's her whole motivation for having the damn party. She wants to say, 'Oh look everyone! My youngest son has returned home at last! And look at how adorable, and intelligent, and charming his fiancee is!' Makes me wanna puke."

"Well," his meister replied, neatly refolding the invitation and replacing it in its envelope. "We're going. It's a week from tonight, next Saturday, so we're going, whether you like it or not. She was even gracious enough to put Black Star and Tsubaki on the invitation, so I'm sure she invited Kid, Liz, and Patty as well. She's _trying_ to make it so that you'd be more comfortable there. I think it's all very sweet of her, even if you're right and all she wants to do is show us off."

"Whatever," he said, rolling onto his side, away from her, and replacing the sheets over his head.

"Tsubaki and I are going to go help Black Star on his job hunt today, so I'll leave your breakfast in the fridge for you."

He merely grunted in reply. Maka glared at her partner, but decided it was easiest to simply let him lie there. She carefully dropped the invitation atop his closed laptop on the desk before exiting the room.

* * *

><p>~end chapter 4<p>

_Ostinato = a motif or phrase which is constantly repeated in it's original form._

Just so you guys know, I have no clue what NYU is like, since I've never actually been there before. Therefore, most of my college descriptions will be based on what the culture at my own university was like. I'm assuming that most U.S. universities that are in a large metropolis run pretty much the same way as mine, but as far as specifics of NYU go, I have no clue! ;3


	5. Chapter 5

**Falling Into Places**

by _PuppyNoelle_

Description: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. They must learn how to survive in the hectic world of college life, part-time jobs, self-doubt, and cunning high-class nemeses. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.

A/N: I'm back! :3 And guess what? I've _finally_ caught up on reading the SE manga! Whooo! (All the way to chapter 90!) :P I'm pretty exhausted from working overnights for two weeks, and then having to immediately switch right back to dayside. Fun times. Most of my time lately has been spent sleeping, honestly.

And I do remember that a reviewer asked if Maka's creative writing teacher was Noah... (can't remember who asked, sorry .) but the answer is nope. Her teacher is actually based on my own creative writing teacher. The similarities are purely coincidental, though incredibly amusing now that you bring that up. Thanks for giving me a reason to chuckle at myself :D

Love, Ash~

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: <em>Modulation<em>

* * *

><p>"Black Star, you <em>need<em> to quit rejecting every single job possibility we suggest!" Maka grumbled as she, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki sat, eating their lunch, inside the Starbucks location down the street from their apartment building.

"Why? Most of these jobs are fucking _stupid!_ I mean, seriously, look at this one!" he said, shoving a newspaper an inch from the blonde meister's face. "Local pet boarding facility looking for people to take care of the dogs. Who the hell would want to hang around all day cleaning up _dog shit_?"

Maka shoved the paper away. "But it's a _job_. And at least it wouldn't be _boring._ Think about it, you can play all day with puppies that are just as hyper as you are." She sighed, "Look, we've been looking for a _week_. Tsubaki's already found a waitressing job in addition to her cooking classes! All you've been doing is sitting around at home playing videogames!"

"So? All this means is that it's taking a bit longer to find the right job for me. That's all. I'm Black Star! I can't just take _any_ job."

"Black Star..." Tsubaki finally spoke up, "Why don't you just give the dog job a try? Just think how impressed they'll be if you can handle the really strong, large dogs."

"Exactly," Soul added, while leaning back into the wooden chair with the bill of a black newsboy cap hanging down in front of his crimson eyes. "Most of the time people get their asses dragged around by those big dogs. It would probably take someone with _godly_ strength to keep them all in check."

_This_ piqued Black Star's interest. "Really? You think so?"

"Yeah, totally man. You should go for it."

"Alright!" the energetic ninja exclaimed, standing up on his chair, "I'm giving them a call right now!"

"Hold on Black Star!" Tsubaki said, trying to drag him down, "It's Saturday, you should wait until Monday to call them, to make sure that they're open."

"Oh," he blinked. "Well I guess you're right. Okay, I'll call them first thing on Monday then," he said before easing back down into his chair.

Maka heaved a sigh of relief. Then, as Black Star and Tsubaki got lost in conversation, she briefly glanced over at Soul, and caught him in an unusual moment. His eyes held an unusual openness as they stared at her. The moment he noticed her gaze, however, a slight blush crossed his features, and he redirected his attention to their two companions. The blonde meister smiled to herself, and turned her own attention to their friends as well, but as she spoke up to reply to a comment Tsubaki made, a petite hand slipped beneath the table and landed on her partner's leg. Once her sentence was finished, she felt Soul's warm fingers silently weave their way between hers.

* * *

><p>Soul truly did not want to attend his mother's party. Yet here he stood, dressed in a stuffy black tuxedo, looking the part of the rich, upper class New Yorker that he was born as. Well, he looked that way from neck to toe, at least. Even though Maka had tried to insist, he absolutely refused to budge and do anything with his messy, silvery hair.<p>

He got tired of standing, alone, in the middle of the living room, and finally took a seat on the piano bench. Seriously though, what was taking the rest of them so long to get ready? He could understand the girls taking forever to get ready- there _were_ four of them after all- but surely Black Star and Kid would be ready by now, too? Instead, the scythe-man was greeted by complete silence, and he didn't even have his ninja best friend's obnoxiously loud ramblings to contend with. It was then, in this state of boredom, that he finally realized just where he had sat down.

He turned in the seat and gently grazed his fingers along the dark wood covering the keys of his digital instrument. Since nobody else was around, perhaps it wouldn't be too terrible if he turned it on and fiddled around with the keys... And he did just that. At first he just played random notes and chords, but soon those chords turned into a song that he had listened to just the other day. It was a ballad, a love song, and one that he had found absolutely stunning. Soon he had begun humming the vocal melody. No words, just notes, sung in a beautiful, rich baritone. He was so lost in the music that he didn't even notice Maka standing behind him until she gently placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke.

"That was beautiful, Soul."

He whirled around in shock, placing his hand above his heart. "Maka! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Her emerald eyes sparkled down at him as she giggled. It was then that he was finally able to take in her full appearance. She wore a floor length, strapless, black satin ball gown, with the black lace pumps that Annabelle had bought her for her last birthday. What was more surprising that her clothing, however, was what sat above her body. His nerdy, bookworm of a girlfriend was actually wearing make-up. She wore just a dash of blush and a tiny bit of light pink lip gloss, but the real attraction was to her eye shadow: it was a beautiful blend of neutral browns, but with a deep, dark, forest green closest to the eyelids. It brought out the color of her eyes wonderfully. His jaw grew slack.

Her long blonde hair was swept up into an elegant bun, but left a few now curled tendrils hanging down to frame her face. Placed perfectly centered around the bun of hair was a small, silver tiara with tiny pearls and rhinestones. From her ears dangled simple silver earrings with pearls on the end, and a matching pearl pendant fell down her neck. That was when Soul realized-

'Wait, Maka, where's your-"

"-ring?" She finished, smiling dazzlingly at him.

He merely nodded. Slowly she raised her left hand up. He tenderly reached a hand out to hold it. Sure enough, the engagement ring that he had given her sat securely on her left ring finger.

"But, I thought you weren't ready to officially be-"

She continued to beam at him. "Well, I figured since Annabelle was probably going to be introducing me to everyone as your fiancee anyways, that it only made sense. And besides..." she trailed off, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his lips, "after hearing you play that beautiful song just now... I _know_ I made the right decision by choosing tonight to make it official."

He slowly rose from the piano bench, placing his free hand securely on her waist, and leaning his face down until his crimson eyes met with her emerald ones. "You are so fucking beautiful," he whispered before kissing her fervently.

To his astonishment, her hands rose to his shoulders and she swatted him away. "_Soul_!" she whined, "Lip gloss! Liz is going to kill me! I had to sit there _forever_ while she played around with my make-up!"

A quiet chuckled rumbled through his chest. "I guess that means I'm not allowed to take you out of your dress either, huh? _Ow_!"

Somehow, a small paperback had appeared in her hand.

"Not until _after_ the party."

"Oh?" his interest had been piqued, "So it's okay after the party, then?"

"Come on," she said, ignoring her fiancee and turning around, "Kid needs your help picking out a tie. Black Star isn't any help, and all they're doing is pissing each other off."

Soul sighed. "What's Black Star doing anyways? Putting the ties on crooked?"

Maka giggled. "Ohh... not _just_ that... I don't know _why_ Kid even has so many ties in the first place, but each time Black Star helps him try one on, he pulls off the rejects and just tosses them on the floor. Everything was fine when Kid couldn't _see_ the ties behind Black Star, but now... Well... let's just say that the pile of ties isn't the only thing that looks like a disaster area right now."

"Oh geez... Fine. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Soul really <em>hated<em> crowds. Actually, about the only time he didn't mind them was when he was at a concert, since at least then he'd have a good distraction. Tonight, however, he had no such luck. His friends, of course, were all enjoying themselves, even Maka, who seemed delighted to show off her engagement ring whenever Soul's mother decided to show her off to some acquaintance. He honestly didn't know how his meister-slash-fiancee could endure all of the attention from people who probably didn't give a rat's-ass. But what stunned him most was the way that she _welcomed_ it all. If his mother hadn't been shoving him around along with Maka, then he would gladly have slunk away into some dark corner somewhere for the remainder of the night.

At last, however, the new faces began to fade, and he felt like he had been introduced to every single person inside the crowded ballroom. After no introductions had been made for a while, Annabelle finally slipped away to join a few of her friends. Soul felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He whirled his platinum head around to find Wes hovering just behind him.

"Sorry about Mom," he said over all the buzzing in the room, "She doesn't want you to be uncomfortable, but you know how she gets when she's excited."

"Yeah, I know," the younger brother replied, "That's the only reason why I put up with it. So where's a dark, quiet balcony when you need one?"

His elder brother smiled, and pointed toward the opposite end of the ballroom. "There's probably a nice breeze at this time of night. Here," Wes said, handing his brother a clear, disposable wine glass.

Soul smirked, "Are you seriously handing your underage brother a glass of red wine in a _public_ venue?"

Wes matched his smirk. "_Technically_ it's a _private_ party. It's not like anybody here cares anyways. Besides, you look like you need it."

"Thanks, bro," the younger said as he turned away, "Hey, tell Maka I'm going for some fresh air, so she won't worry."

"Of course," the elder said to his brother's retreating form.

000

"Ah, _finally_..." Soul mumbled to himself as he took in the fresh air from the balcony.

"I see you had the same idea I did," came a suspiciously familiar baritone voice from him. The weapon whirled around to find his father leaning casually against the outside wall.

"Shit. I wouldn't have come if I'd known _you_ were out here, old man."

"Hmph. Just as insolent as ever, I see."

"Yeah, so? What have you come to lecture me about this time? Was my fake smile not convincing enough while Mom was introducing me and Maka to all those people?"

"I personally don't give a damn if you smile or not. What I _do_ care about is why you want to _marry_ that _nobody_."

The scythe-man growled. "Because I _love_ her. I don't any other reason than that."

"Do _her_ parents approve of the match?"

"Yes."

"Even though you're rude and insolent?"

"Look, I'll admit, it took Maka's dad a long time to come around, but now he trusts me with her life."

"Well I don't trust _her_ with _yours_."

"What the _fuck _are you talking about?"

Graham Evans approached pointing directly at his son's chest, poking at the scar beneath the layers of fancy clothing. "Your mother told me about your scar. It's _that girl's_ fault you nearly got killed."

"Oh _shut up!_" Soul shouted, smacking his father's hand away. "It _wasn't_ her fault, it was _mine_, dammit! She tried to take the blow for me, but _I_ _wouldn't let her!_ So don't you _dare_ try to tell me what happened, because _you_ don't understand _shit!_" He huffed, ruthlessly chucking the wine glass onto the marble balcony floor. As the glass shattered, the young man pushed past his father, headed for the safety of the crowded room, where his love and his friends waited somewhere inside.

Back inside the ballroom, it wasn't too difficult for the male weapon to find his friends, since Maka and Black Star were having another one of their arguments beside one of the buffet tables. He didn't even get the chance to hear what the argument was about, because by the time he'd approached them, Maka had somehow retrieved a book and chopped her childhood friend on the top of the head. All of the partygoers around them stopped to watch the display, but luckily there were too many people there for a large part of the crowd to notice.

"Yo, guys!" Soul called over Black Star's cursing fit, "Let's go home, this party's starting to bore me."

"But Soul..." Maka began quietly, only to be interrupted...

"Huh? What are you talking about, Soul?" Black Star replied, completely recovering from his previous state, "This party's just getting started! Tsubaki and I haven't even been able to hit the dance floor yet, it's all just been meet and greet so far!"

"Yeah," Liz piped in, "Annabelle invited a lot of her fashion industry contacts, including some brand new up and coming designers, and Patty and I haven't even met them all yet!"

"Yes, it would be a shame if we were to leave this early," Kid politely added.

"Fine, " Soul grumbled, "then I'll just leave by myself. 'Night."

Maka's heart fell as she watched her fiancee's retreating back. Something must have happened. She immediately shoved the paperback book she held into Black Star's hands, grabbed hold of the skirt of her dress, and attempted to sprint after him in her stiletto heels. As she busted through the ballroom's entrance, she realized that her already sore feet would never allow her to catch up to him if she didn't do something about these damn shoes.

"Dammit," she cursed quietly as she hobbled on one leg, and then the other, to remove the black pumps. As soon as she was steady on her feet again, she shot off. The good thing about being a meister, rather than a weapon, was that she was a bit more athletic than her partner, so even if he were running, she would surely be able to catch up to him. She blew right past the doorman, who looked utterly frightened by her sudden exit onto the street. In her peripheral vision she noticed people staring at her as she ran in her formal gown and bare feet down the street. She didn't really have time to care. Then she finally caught a glimpse of his messy white hair.

"Soul! Wait!" she yelled, hoping her call would reach him through the line that was forming outside of the nightclub entrance by her.

He froze at the sound of her voice, and turned around to see her blonde head bobbling up and down as she squeezed her way through the crowd. By the time she had made her way to him, part of her hair had come undone, so blonde threads were sticking out every which way, and a rip had appeared in the satin material near the bottom hem of her dress.

"You idiot," he said, sighing; "Now your feet are dirty, and probably bleeding from running on the concrete."

"Well I wasn't gonna let you go home all by yourself."

"Somehow I knew you'd be stubborn like that," he replied, turning his back to her. "Alright, hop up," he said, motioning with his hands toward his back.

"Huh? But Soul, I don't _need_ to be carried around like a little kid-"

"If you walk all the way home with bare feet, you're gonna destroy them. Quit being stubborn, and climb onto my back."

"Fine," she gave in, doing as she was told, however she made sure to smack him in the face with her shoes as she swung her arms around his shoulders: just to let him know that she wasn't happy about it. He didn't comment, just grumbled and adjusted his arms around her thighs to support her properly.

After a few minutes of being carried in silence, Maka finally spoke up. "What happened?"

"Huh?" her weapon replied.

"What happened to make you want to leave the party? You were pissed about _something_, otherwise you wouldn't have stomped out like that."

Her weapon heaved yet another sigh. "My dad. The asshole had the balls to tell me that he didn't approve of you."

"And you're upset because you wanted him to like me?"

"_No_!" he snapped, "I don't give a damn _what_ he thinks! I chose _you_, and I'm never changing my mind!"

However, as she peeked around to see his face, she could see a faint blush dashed across his cheeks.

"Denial."

"What?"

"You're in _denial_. Let me guess, you never got your dad's approval when you were younger, and that's why you're so rebellious now?"

"Since when did _you_ become a _psychiatrist_?"

The blonde girl released an airy laughter. "I didn't. I just know my partner well, that's all."

"Well... You are right about one thing," he finally admitted, "Dad never did approve of me. All he ever did was criticize me. As a kid all I ever heard was 'You can't do that' or 'Why can't you be more like Wes?' or 'You're never going to be good enough'. All I ever heard was 'no'. And every time mom or Wes would try to help me, he'd get mad at them, too."

"Do you think maybe he pushed you so hard because he felt that you _could_ do things without help?"

"No way! He's just a jerk. I'm _not_ good enough!"

Maka giggled. "Soul, for such a 'cool' guy, you're definitely _not _an alpha type."

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"An alpha type wouldn't believe it when somebody tells them they're not good enough. You're definitely a beta type if you're just going to doubt yourself."

"Somehow I get the feeling that my manliness was just insulted."

"Only a little bit."

"So what the hell do you want me to do about it?"

"Quit being defensive when you talk to your dad. _Show him_ that you're happy with me. Show him the side of you that you let me and everyone else see."

"What do I do if he keeps insulting you?"

"Just ignore it. If he really loves you, then he'll come around eventually."

"Maka?"

"Yeah?"

"You're getting kinda heavy. Can we take a break on that bench over there?"

"Oh, sure."

She felt her body slowly lower to the ground as his warm arms carefully released their hold on her thighs. She watched her partner fall back onto the wooden bench and sigh. His arms lay at his sides like a ragdoll's, and he closed his eyes. He was tired, and not just physically.

She completed the last few paces between herself and the bench, and sat down beside him, lacing together their fingers. "Tonight really took a lot out of you, didn't it? And I'm not just talking about the fight with your dad."

"Yeah. I hate having to force myself to smile so much. That's part of the reason why I left Manhattan in the first place. If you're in the 'upper class' you have to plaster on a fake face, because if you don't, the rabid dogs will eat you alive."

"Then just don't work so hard at it. You've been away for so many years now, that people are probably going to talk anyways. It's a waste of energy. Besides," she said, grinning cheerfully at him as his eyes opened again, "I was actually enjoying myself, so I'll smile enough for the both of us."

"You idiot," he replied, smiling softly at her and bringing her hand up to his lips. He gently kissed the pale skin on the back of her petite hand. "Fine then," he said as he allowed their hands to drop once more, "I'll let you take over all the smiling and polite crap, and I'll try to not let my dad get under my skin."

"Deal!" his meister replied happily as she leaned back, snuggling into him.

"Yo! Soul! Maka!"

The pair turned around in their seats to find Black Star's torso sticking out of the sunroof of a limousine. He was waving at them, with Maka's book in one of his hands. Cars around the limo were honking.

"C'mon guys! Let's go home!" the ninja yelled from across the street, just as the windows rolled down to reveal the rest of their friends inside the car's cabin.

Maka released her partner's hand to wave back. "Coming!" she yelled back cheerfully. "Come on, Soul!"

"Okay," he replied, allowing her to pull him up.

As she bounded forward toward the street, he stopped her before she could leave the sidewalk. Surprised, she felt him scoop her up into his arms. In response, she hugged his shoulders as he walked them both through the nighttime traffic toward their ride home.

* * *

><p>~end chapter 5<p>

_modulation = the act of moving from one key to another within a composition._

Sorry I haven't put a lemon in yet! Those are coming (i promise!) but the focus of this story is more on emotional growth, so I need to get through more plot first ;3


	6. Chapter 6

**Falling Into Places**  
>by PuppyNoelle<p>

Description: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. They must learn how to survive in the hectic world of college life, part-time jobs, self-doubt, and cunning high-class nemeses. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.

A/N: Sooooo sorry for totally skipping out on my November update! (Life's been insane :/ ). To make it up to you guys, I included some previously unplanned smuttiness in this chapter! ;3 I hope you guys enjoy, and I hope you continue giving me feedback! XOXO!

Love, Ash~

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: <em>Subito<em>

"You're _FIRED_!" screamed the manager of the kennel as he chased Black Star out the front door. The blue-haired ninja ran down the street until he was a safe enough distance away from his _former_ place of employment.

"Tch. Stupid old bastard. I didn't come to have tiny ass Chihuahuas bite me, anyways!" he grumbled aloud as he stomped down the busy afternoon street. "I'll find some place that appreciates my greatness!"

Suddenly, the young assassin's cell phone vibrated from within his pocket. He whipped it out, and grinned at the name he read on the screen. This was _exactly_ the kind of work he was looking for...

"Yo, Lord Death! Black Star here, what's up?"

* * *

><p>The dark leather of the backseat was hot against Maka's exposed shins. It was late September now, but they still had a few days with temperatures in the upper 70s. However, the heat wasn't only from the sun warming up Soul's black Mustang: at the moment her fiancee was lying on his back across the back seat, with Maka straddling him, while they made out.<p>

"Damn..." Soul said as they both gasped for air, "If I didn't have class in like fifteen minutes..."

His lover giggled as she pulled away from him. "And if only Kid weren't coming in about five minutes to trade his morning textbooks for his afternoon ones..."

"Yeah..." the silver-haired young man replied, attempting to steady his breathing.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the window behind Maka. She jumped, hitting her head on the durable fabric top of the car.

"Shit!" Soul shouted, instantly pulling himself out from under his fiancee, "Kid!"

Maka sighed in relief, and pushed the front seat forward so that she could open the door for their reaper friend. The young death god grinned mischievously at the pair. "You two are pretty lucky it was just me, and not the campus security. Soul, could you please pass my math textbook? It's underneath the backseat."

"Uh... sure," the embarrassed deathscythe complied, reaching down and handing the book to his meister, who then handed it over to the other meister.

"Remember to tidy yourself up before we go to class, Maka. And don't forget your textbook." Kid smilingly lectured. Suddenly, the shinigami's cellphone rang, and his face turned sour. He didn't even pull the device out of his pocket, he just handed off his morning textbooks to Maka, who then placed them underneath the back seat.

"Aren't you going to answer your phone, Kid?" she asked curiously. Soul, who was busy rebuttoning up the front of his shirt, stopped and peered up.

"No," Kid replied stiffly. "It's just Liz, _again_."

"Hey," Soul replied as he finished fixing his shirt. "What's going on with you two anyways? When we first moved here, everything seemed to be going great."

"I don't want to talk about this," Kid replied stubbornly.

"Fine," the platinum-haired man replied coolly, "But if you refuse to let your friends help you, then you'd better at least talk to _Liz_. If you can't talk about what's bothering you, then things are only gonna get worse."

"Maka," the shinigami said, completely ignoring Soul's words, "Let's go, Soul needs to get to class."

"But, Kid-" she started.

"It's okay, Maka," her lover replied, grabbing his messenger bag and climbing out of the car from the opposite side. "It's _his_ life, let him figure it out for himself."  
>As her partner slung his bag over his shoulder and walked away, Maka turned her attention to her fellow meister. She grabbed her own math book up from the floor of the car, and promptly hopped out. She slammed the heavy textbook onto the top of her friend's head.<p>

"Idiot!" she shrilled.

Kid's hands clung to his skull as he whimpered in pain. Unlike Soul and Black Star, Maka-Chops were a rarity for him. "_Ma-ka_!" he whined.

"Soul was just trying to help you!"

"Sorry..." the young man replied, shaking around his dual-colored hair apologetically. "I just... can't... _talk_about this! I don't know how!"

Maka pushed the front seat back into an upright position and sat down. "You mean you can't talk about your feelings?" Somehow this wasn't really a surprise to her. He was the studious, logical type, very similar to her.

"Er... yes."

"Then think about it logically first. Figure out what exactly is bothering you, then figure out why, and after that figure out what your options are for dealing with it. This is at least partially about the texting, right?"

He nodded.

"Well then come up with a list of reasons why that bothers you, and then use that to come up with a list of possible solutions. You'll be fine if you choose the option that works best for both you and Liz," she finished, standing up and grabbing both her bag and math textbook.

As Maka closed the car door and used her spare key to lock it behind her, Kid spoke again. "Maka, I won't be riding home with you and Soul after class."

She whirled around in surprise. "Why not?"

"I'm going to hang out with some new friends from my Introduction to Anthropology class."

"Oh, okay. Well, just let us know if you'd rather not take a cab home later. One of us can come pick you up."

"Thank you," Kid replied politely.

The pair remained silent as they waited for the start of their shared math class.

* * *

><p>When Maka and Kid's class finally let out, Soul was already outside the lecture hall waiting for them. "Yo, over here guys!"<p>

His meister happily made her way over to her fiancee, but Kid came over at a much slower pace, looking around the hall instead.

"What's up, Kid?" the scythe-man asked.

"Oh, that's right," Maka said, entwining her fingers with Soul's. Her engagement ring flashed in the process, getting a few whispers and dreamy sighs from a pair of girls walking past them. "Kid said that he's meeting up with some new friends, so he doesn't need a ride home."

The young shinigami nodded. "Yes, we're all meeting here, so you two can go ahead home without me."

"Alright, but we can wait with you until they show up," Soul offered.

"It's fine. Two of them have class in this building as well, and they should be out of class soon, also."

"Okay," the weapon replied, but just as he and Maka prepared to leave, a shouting voice stopped them.

"Hey! Kid!" The voice belonged to a tall young man with short blonde hair, and an athletic build. He was dressed in khaki cargo pants and a navy blue polo shirt. "How's it going, man?" the young man replied as he approached. He was quickly followed by another guy, this time a brunette, who was slightly shorter and skinnier. He also wore khakis but wore a t-shirt with some designer logo across the front.

Kid greeted the pair in his typical manner, and offered to introduce them to Soul and Maka.

The blonde smiled brightly at both of them. "Hey, my name's Derek, nice to meet you!"

Derek politely shook both of their hands as they introduced themselves. The brunette immediately noticed the ring on Maka's finger and frowned. However, he plastered on a smile again, and introduced himself.

"Hey, I'm Jack," he said while shaking each of their hands in turn, "So you two are engaged, huh? Aren't you guys kinda young to be getting married?"

"No," both meister and weapon replied in unison. Soul's blood red eyes were beginning to narrow. He didn't need to hear this guy's thoughts to know where they were going.

"Those two have been inseparable for a long time," Kid interrupted, "This is only natural for them." It was Kid's graceful way of saying, 'Don't even go there.'

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow then, okay Kid?" Maka said, putting on a smile, and gripping her angry fiancee's hand tighter.

"Ah, yes," her fellow meister replied, "I suppose I won't see you until tomorrow. Have a good night you two."

With that, Maka dragged her weapon away.

* * *

><p>Soul growled from the passenger seat. "I can't believe... the nerve... to ask that... so fucking <em>rude<em>! Trying to hit on _my_ woman! How the hell can Kid actually be _friends_with a guy like that?"

"I don't know," Maka replied from the driver's seat. "Maybe he doesn't care for that guy as much as the other one, Derek. It could be that he and the other guys are nicer than that Jack guy."

"Maka, you're too damn trusting of people. I'll bet he and the other ones are exactly like that _Jack_ guy. They're probably just good at hiding it. That's how people are here. You can't tell the honest ones from the dishonest ones, because they all put up some kind of a front."

"Well either way, it doesn't matter," his meister pointed out, "because Kid _wants_ to be friends with them."

"But _we_ don't have to be."

"True, but we still need to be polite to other people."

"Yeah yeah... whatever. Can we get some food somewhere? I'm hungry..."

"No. Just wait. I'll make something when we get home."

Soul grumbled incoherently. Maka ignored him. The pair sat in silence for the duration of the drive home.

* * *

><p>All Soul and Maka could hear when they entered their apartment was Black Star whooping and hollering. When the couple approached Black Star and Tsubaki's open bedroom door, they peeked their heads in cautiously. Their blue-haired friend was inside punching the living daylights out of the punching bag that hung from the ceiling in the center of the room. Luckily, the assassin wasn't angry, but rather overly excited.<p>

"Black Star," Maka interrupted, "What are you _doing_? I thought you were working today."

"Oh! Hey guys!" the ninja said, abandoning the punching bag in favor of sit-ups, so that he could see and speak to his friends while he exercised. "Actually, Maka, my asshole of a boss fired me today."

"_WHAT_?" both Soul and Maka exclaimed.

"What happened?" the female asked, bewildered.

Black Star stopped his workout. "Some stupid Chihuahua spazzed out and bit me, so I kicked it."

"YOU _WHAT?_"

"No _wonder_you were fired," Soul grumbled, "injuring the animals is so uncool, dude."

The blue-haired man folded his arms across his chest and puffed out his lips in a child-like manner. "Hey man, it's not like it's my fault the little pipsqueak decided to attack me! Besides, it doesn't even matter now anyways. Lord Death called me with a mission!" the assassin cheered, "Tsubaki's off work at 8, so after that we're catching a plane to Tokyo! Yahoo!"

Maka sighed, but let the subject drop. They would just have to help him find a more suitable job later. Her stomach rumbled. Soul's crimson eyes locked on her stomach and a toothy grin grazed his mouth. His eyes, filled with mirth, met with hers.

"I told you we should've picked up some fast food on the way h-"

"Shut up," the young woman grumbled, flipping around and curtly exiting the room.

Just as Soul turned to follow his meister out to the kitchen, Black Star stopped him. "Yo, tell Maka I already ordered some pizza, so there's still plenty left in the fridge."

The scythe grinned and held up his hand for a high-five. "Awesome. Thanks, man."

"No prob," the ninja replied, completing the friendly gesture.

* * *

><p>"Oh Maaaakaaaa..." her weapon called in a low, almost-singing voice.<p>

"Go away, Soul, I'm busy right now," his fiancee called from the couch.

The platinum-haired man sighed. He blew out the red scented candle in his hand and placed it back onto the desk in their bedroom. He glared at the other candles sitting around the room. His glance soured even more as he peeked back into the bathroom at the bathtub that was currently filled to the top with Maka's favorite bubble bath. He grumbled at the stupid dress shirt that he had put on as part of his, now ruined, grand scheme at seducing the love of his life.  
>He threw off the plain black tie, and ripped open the top half of buttons on the white shirt. "Stupid woman..." he growled under his breath, as he began to stomp out to the living room.<p>

Just as he rounded the corner to the living area, his eyes caught a glimpse at the television screen. On the screen were three blonde characters, each holding a gun, and taking turns attacking fat gangster-looking guys. His crimson orbs followed an invisible trail to the couch where his meister sat, with the PS3 controller in her hands. He shook his head.

"Are you _seriously_ playing _that_ game? You _do_realize that that game is really fuckin' hard, right?"

"Actually," she replied, emerald eyes not once leaving the screen, "it's not so bad once you get the battle system down... Here, watch," she said, briefly pointing her finger at the screen, before returning her hand to the controller.

"Dammit, Maka, you've been playing games behind my back again, haven't you? You _know_it pisses me off when you get better at them than me."

"But Soul," she whined, "the story of this game is soooo _good_! And the chapter I just finished totally explains what was going on with that teaser trailer in the load menu, and the little romance between Z-"

Soul grabbed his head in frustration, yelling, "_Spoiler Alert! Maka, Shut UP_! If you say one more word to spoil the plot, I'm gonna have to hurt you!"

Finally, her green orbs left the screen. They briefly looked him up and down. "What's with the dress clothes?"

Angrily, the scythe-man stomped his foot onto the floor. "Because I was _trying_ to be _romantic_, you _dumbass_! This is the first night that both Tsubaki and Black Star have been out since we moved here! All I fucking wanted was to make tonight special, and then you had to go and ruin it by ignoring me and playing that goddamn _videogame_ instead! Now everything is _ruined_!"

He panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Really?" Maka asked, staring at him innocently.

Soul heaved another, exasperated, sigh. "Yes. Just go check out the bedroom, you idiot." With that, he collapsed beside her on the couch.  
>"Okay," his meister replied perkily, bouncing off the sofa and dropping the controller onto her love's lap.<p>

A minute later he heard a very girly squeal of delight. "It's about damn time..." he muttered to himself.

After sitting on the couch in silence for several minutes, the young man finally realized that his fiancee had not returned, nor even said anything to him yet. He grumbled as he finally pulled himself off the couch and strolled back into the bedroom. Maka wasn't there, but the mostly closed bathroom door and quiet splashing noises coming from within gave away her location. He casually pushed open the door, and peeked in to find her bare back revealed to his gaze. Wanting to get a better look, and to get payback for not being allowed to join her, he tiptoed over to the tub, and leaned his mouth down close to her ear.

"Boo!" he bellowed.

Maka shrieked, and Soul managed to catch a glimpse of both her bubble-covered breasts before a shampoo bottle collided with the top of his skull.

"Dammit Maka..." he moaned in pain, resting his neck on the wet edge of the bathtub.

Facing her weapon this time, she crossed her arms over her chest, obscuring her breasts from his view. "You deserved it for scaring me like that."

"Yeah well, _you_ deserved it for not coming to get me so I could join you. What, did you think I set all of this up _just for you_? I was hoping to get laid as a reward for doing all this, you know..."

Maka sighed, rolling her eyes. "Of course you were... You're such a guy. Don't worry, you'll get what you want, just be a good boy and wait in bed."

He finally lifted his head up from the edge of the tub. "Really?"

She removed one hand from over her chest, while still keeping her breasts hidden from his gaze, and blew a handful of bubbles into his hopeful face. He fell backwards onto the tile floor, spitting the soapy air pockets out of his mouth. His facial features molded into a cross between a glare and a pout. His tormentor merely smiled at him, dangling her arms over the edge of the tub.

"And while you're at it, button up your shirt again, and put on that tie that's on the floor. I wanna take them off myself."

Soul's lips pealed into a wide grin. "Roger that."

* * *

><p>After about ten minutes of waiting, Maka finally emerged from the bathroom wearing a large, fluffy, pastel-pink bathrobe.<p>

"_Finally,_" Soul breathed, sitting up straight on the bed in anticipation.

But Maka shook her head, grinning. "Almost," she said, tiptoeing over to the walk-in closet instead. Her scythe looked at her pitifully. Soul grumbled as his meister disappeared into the confines of the closet. She was a tease. Nothing but a frustrating, obnoxious, yet sexy-as-hell, tease. However, just as the young man was beginning to give up on the prospect of sex for the night, his lover finally returned from the closet. What she wore completely took him by surprise.

An all too familiar long black trench coat, red-plaid mini-skirt, white blouse, yellow sweater-vest and green-and-white tie adorned her body. His jaw dropped. It had been years since that outfit had graced her body, and the slightly-too-small size of the fabric hugged her new womanly curves snugly. The skirt was even shorter now than he had remembered it... He could feel the itch inside his nose, and the drool begin to fall toward the edge of his mouth...

Maka giggled as she slowly, and tantalizingly approached the bed. "So, Soul, I take it you remember this outfit?"

"Y-yeah..." he muttered, unconsciously reaching his hands out in her direction.

"It's a bit small now," she stated conversationally, inching closer to the bed, "but for the most part it still fits." She reached down and fluttered the skirt up just enough to reveal to her lover that she wore no underwear beneath it.

His whole body gravitated a bit closer. His little-Soul was definitely perking up. She was getting damn good at being a tease. A big tease.

"The way you're dressed reminded me of our old school uniforms, so I figured it would be fun to see if this still fit," she continued, finally reaching the bed, and placing one knee on top of it. She unbuttoned her coat. His hands were on her sleeves in the next instant, yanking the black cloth off her arms.

He couldn't take it anymore, as his lips devoured hers. Still keeping control, Maka shoved him onto his back on the bed and hovered on top of him without breaking the kiss. His hands found their way to her thighs and attempted to pry them apart. However, they resisted. He broke the kiss to growl in annoyance, and in reply she shushed him.

As she worked on removing his tie, she instructed him to do the same. The moment after his black tie went flying, her pale yellow vest disappeared as well. As his hands fumbled with her green tie, her own worked on unbuttoning his shirt. The green strip of fabric fluttered away, and his white shirt flipped open, Maka leaned forward, lightly kissing upward on Soul's chest.

"Maka..." he moaned.

When her kisses finally made their way up to his mouth, her slim fingers reached down and expertly opened the fly of his pants. He yanked her blouse up, and while failing to remove it completely, he had managed to completely untuck it from her skirt. He now had free access beneath the shirt, and was pleased to discover that his lover had skipped putting on a bra as well as panties.

Finally, Maka released control, and Soul flipped her over on the bed. His face dove in on hers for another passionate kiss, and he felt her tug on his pants, conveniently pulling down both his pants and his boxers. He broke off the kiss, taking a brief moment to flip up her skirt, and kissed her again, just before pushing inside of her.

"Mmm..." she mumbled at the pleasant sensation.

Her thighs squeezed around his hips as he moved rhythmically above her. Her nails began to dig into his back through his white shirt, and her legs clasped him more tightly the more intense the pleasure became.

"Soul," she gasped, "I'm... almost..."

"I know," he breathed, "almost... _now_!"

And they both released.

After they had both caught their breath, Soul pulled away and pulled her hand into his own. He laced their fingers together and brought her hand up to his lips, gently kissing her knuckles.

"Damn," he said, "If I'd known, four years ago, how much that outfit was going to turn me on now, I'd have tried something sooner. I don't give a damn if your boobs were non-existent back then, I totally should've made a move. Or at least tried to look up your skirt while in weapon form."

A pillow half-heartedly collided with his face. "Pervert."

He shoved the pillow away, grinning. "Well now I am, but, back then, you've gotta admit, I was a perfect gentleman. I never once tried to peek on you in the bath or grab your boobs, like Black Star and Kid did to their partners."

Maka sighed in defeat, "True. Tsubaki used to vent to me whenever Black Star tried to pull that."

She pulled the displaced pillow back beneath her head, and closed her eyes peacefully. After a few quiet minutes, she felt Soul curl up against her, placing his head on her soft chest. She took in the scent of his messy white hair, and freed her hand from his so that she could pull him even closer. She began to doze off.

* * *

><p>The blonde meister and her partner were yanked back into consciousness by a loud banging sound. The still disheveled Soul flew up into a sitting position and transformed his arm into a blade.<p>

"Wait!" Maka shouted, "I hear Patty's voice! She must be knocking on our door! I hear her calling for Tsubaki and I."

Her scythe relaxed, his arm returning to normal. "I guess we'd better get decent then," he replied, standing up and fixing his pants. Maka ran into the closet and emerged a minute later wearing a pair of jeans and a hastily thrown on black bra beneath her white uniform shirt.

"Maka, I can see your bra through your shirt," her partner commented, as he finished buttoning up his shirt.

"Oh, who cares," the young woman replied, "it's just Patty. Now let's hurry, she sounds upset."

"'Kay," he replied, obediently following his meister out of the bedroom.

Maka practically ran to the front door, and threw it open. Sure enough, the younger Thompson sister stood in the hall, wearing an utterly helpless look on her face.

"Patty, what's wrong?"

"IT'S _SIS_!" the ditzy blonde wailed, grabbing Maka into a tight embrace. "She's a total mess! She won't stop crying, and I don't know what to doooooo!"  
>"What happened?" Soul asked worriedly from behind the two girls.<p>

Patty raised her head from Maka's shoulder to look at him. Her crystal blue eyes were red and puffy with tears. "Kid broke up with her."

* * *

><p>~end chapter 6<p>

_subito = a dynamics marking meaning 'suddenly'._

Yes, I know, I left you guys with a cliffhanger. Sorry! But it's a necessary evil. And please don't send me hate mail for this turn of events. It's all part of plot development. You'll learn more as each new chapter comes out. Hugs!


	7. Chapter 7

**Falling Into Places**

by _PuppyNoelle_

Description: Sequel to Unintended Medicine. Soul, Maka, and Co are finally taking their first steps into life in the big city. They must learn how to survive in the hectic world of college life, part-time jobs, self-doubt, and cunning high-class nemeses. Can they all stay together, even as the tides of change are ripping them apart? SxM, BxT, KxL. Lemons are imminent.

A/N: Happy New Year loves! :D

And to answer the big question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind: "Why did you decide to have Kid break up with Liz?"

Instead of being direct (and giving away spoilers), I'm going to answer you with this quote from one of my favorite authors, the late Kurt Vonnegut, from his (very brief) essay called "Creative Writing 101": "Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them- in order that the reader may see what they are made of." ;3

Love, Ash~

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: <em>Leading Tone<em>

* * *

><p>"He <em>WHAT?<em>" Maka yelled in shock, pushing the younger Thompson sister away to examine her face for the truth. It was true. Every ounce of it. The pain in her friend's face was blatantly evident.

While still holding onto Patty's arms, Maka jumped up and stamped both feet onto the ground. "That IDIOT!" the female meister yelled in frustration. "I told him to figure out what was best for _both of them_, not to be stupid and take the cheap way out! I'm gonna _kill him_!" She released her friend's arms and grabbed a tight hold of her hand instead. "Okay, take me to Liz!" she demanded, and the two girls sped off, with Soul close on their heels.

* * *

><p>The moment the trio entered the grand penthouse apartment, all they could hear were the miserable wails of the broken-hearted Liz Thompson. They all followed the sounds to their source- the sisters' bedroom. The moment the elder Thompson sister, who was bawling on the carpeted floor, saw her sister and female friend, she snatched them both into a death-grip hug and wailed their names.<p>

"OH PATTYYY! MAKAAAA! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED! HE WASN'T MAKING ANY SENSE! HE JUST SAID HE WANTED TO BREAK UP! WHAAAAA!"

"Shh..." Maka replied, stroking the older girl's hair comfortingly. "It's okay. When you're ready to stop crying you can tell me everything he said, okay? We'll get to the bottom of this."

A few feet away from the trio of girls, Soul stood with his brow furrowed in thought. Once Liz's wailing had finally subsided into quiet sobs, the male weapon finally spoke up.

"Where is he? Is he here, or did he break up with you over the phone?"

Liz sniffled loudly. "On the phone..." she whimpered.

"_Dumbass_," Soul accused, punching the wall in frustration, and leaving a small dent in the surface. "I'm calling him," the young man announced as he pulled his hand away from the dented drywall. "I'll be back. ...And sorry about the wall," he said before marching out of the sisters' shared bedroom and into the entrance hall.

The young man tapped his foot impatiently on the white marble floor. The cell phone rang in his ear. Again. And again. "Dammit, you stupid bastard, pick up your damn phone!" Soul cursed into the receiver. It went to voicemail. "Goddammit Kid, _answer your fucking phone_!" He yelled as he hit the speed dial for Kid's number again. This time, after a few rings, the phone picked up, and Soul could barely pick up Kid's voice over the blaring loud music in the background.

"Soul? What is it?"

"_YOU STUPID FUCKING IDIOT, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED, AND WHY DID YOU DUMP LIZ? SHE'S OVER HERE BAWLING HER FUCKING EYES OUT!"_

"_Dammit..._" he heard the Shinigami curse into the receiver. "Hang on, let me go someplace quiet."

"Fine," the deathscythe growled. He heard quite a bit of shuffling around from the other end, but eventually he heard the sound of a door sliding closed and the music instantly dimmed to a low purr. "Okay, what the fuck happened, Kid?"

The guilty party heaved a tired sigh. "Well... basically, I thought a lot about what was going wrong with our relationship, and I decided that the best thing to do would be to end our romantic relationship before things got even more out of hand."

"Is this about the texting and calling?"

"Mostly," Kid replied, "She wouldn't stop, even when I ignored it, and she still continued calling, even when she knew exactly where I was! She called me tonight while I was out to dinner with the guys, and we got into an argument. I apologized and explained the situation to Derek and everyone, and they provided a very logical case-"

Soul growled into the phone. "You listened to _those guys_? Kid, I've seen their type before, they're just looking for another buddy to party with and help them round up girls to use and then lose!"

"Soul!" Kid chastised, "That's a very rude thing to say! They are perfectly amiable people, I assure you, and they were merely trying to help me out through a difficult time and-"

"Is _that_ why you're at a _frat party_ with them?" Soul accused.

"How did you-"

"_Hello!_ Kid, this is college life in America, and New York City to boot! I heard the music, I heard the voices of a lot of people, and I also heard what sounded like a porch door sliding when you came out. Just because I haven't been to a frat party myself, doesn't mean I can't recognize one when I hear one. My ears are too good for that."

This time it was Kid's turn to growl into the phone in frustration. "Well what do you want me to do, Soul? Come back home and tell Liz 'I'm sorry, but I don't want to break up after all?' This isn't easy for me either Soul, but I've made my decision, and I'm going to stick to it!"

"Fine," Soul replied coldly, "But while you're out there partying with your new best friends, keep this in mind: the next time your dad calls you out for a mission, odds are you're gonna be on your own, because your weapons are gonna be too upset to fight with you."

There was stunned silence on the other line.

"Bye." Soul said sharply, hanging up on the silent reaper.

Grumbling incoherently, the scythe-man stuffed his cellphone back into his pocket. Just as he turned to head back toward the girls' bedroom, he realized that his meister was already behind him. The expression she wore was pained and sad.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"I heard your frat party remarks just as I was coming around the corner," she replied, closing the remaining distance between them and embracing his torso tightly. He wrapped his arms snugly around her and buried his face into the top of her head.

"How's she doing?" he asked into his love's hair.

"She cried herself to sleep," Maka replied solemnly into Soul's shirt, "Patty said she'll take care of her, so we can go back home. I told her I'd leave my phone on in case she needs me."

"Okay," her fiancee replied. "You ready to go to sleep?"

"Yes, please."

"'Kay," he replied, as he gently laced his fingers into hers and led her out of the penthouse.

* * *

><p>"Kid did <em>WHAT?<em>" yelled a stunned Black Star, after Soul recounted the previous night's events to he and Tsubaki when they arrived home the next afternoon.

"Yup, that's how it all went down," Soul finished, "And none of us have heard a peep from him since I called him. Maka just checked in with Patty an hour ago, and Kid didn't come home last night either. My guess is he's crashing with one of his frat buddies until the worst of the storm has passed here... since he knows that we're all pissed at him."

"How's Liz doing?" Tsubaki asked in a motherly tone.

"She's still sleeping," Maka replied from the living room couch, several feet away from the front door, where everyone else stood. "Patty said that she woke up once to use the bathroom, but that was it. She just went right back to sleep."

"Did she say anything?" Tsubaki further inquired.

The blonde shook her head, "Nope. She just silently used the bathroom and went right back to bed."

The black-haired woman's typically cheerful countenance was etched into a worried frown. Her partner, on the other hand, looked calmly out the large windows beyond the couch where Maka sat.

"Kid'll come to his senses eventually," the young ninja confidently replied, "He probably just needed to get some space to clear his head. I say we just let him have some stupid, shallow fun with those frat guys without getting in his face about it, and eventually he'll get tired of it, and come running back to Liz."

_BANG! _Soul and Tsubaki jumped at the sound of the coffee table crashing to the ground. They all watched Maka's clenched fists tremble in anger. Her shoe-less foot kicked the underside of the table once more, and she spun on her heels. She shot a hasty glare in Black Star's direction before stomping off toward she and Soul's bedroom.

"What did I say?" the clueless ninja asked.

The other male sighed, "Black Star you _really_ are an insensitive idiot sometimes. You've known Maka a lot longer than any of the rest of us, so you should've _known_ how she would interpret that comment about _letting him have his fun_."

"Oh, _shit_," the blue-haired man replied, "Sorry man. I didn't mean for it to sound like I was saying that we should let Kid _cheat_ on Liz or anything... even though, technically, it wouldn't be cheating if he dated other girls, since they're not together anymore..."

Soul calmly raised a hand to cut his friend off. "Let's just stop talking about it, alright? I'm with Maka, and I think we should make Liz our priority."

Tsubaki nodded in agreement, "Soul's right, Black Star, our energy is much better spent trying to comfort Liz right now. Once we've helped her get through this, then we can be there to listen to Kid's side of the story, whenever he's ready to come back to us."

"Got it," the male meister agreed.

* * *

><p>"Well," Maka announced as she approached Soul in the hallway after her math class, "Kid has been in math class everyday for the past two weeks," she reported.<p>

Her weapon weaved their fingers together and held her hand tightly. "Did he say anything to you yet?"

She shook her blonde head. "Nope. He's still sitting way in the back of the lecture hall, and dashes out as soon as class is over. Even the professor has noticed, and right after class today he asked me what happened."

Her partner sighed. "Well, at least it doesn't look like he's going to skip town or anything. Maybe we'll be able to reel him back in soon..."

"Yeah," his meister replied, clenching her teeth together, "and give him a good hard series of Maka-chops!"

Soul yanked on her hand. "Maka..." he chastised, "you know you can't do that. If we want more answers out of him, we can't scare him off. What was Black Star's analogy again? Oh yeah: we've gotta hunt him like a baby deer. We have to wait for him to come to us first."

"_Then_ I can Maka-chop him?"

"Yes, _then_ you can Maka-chop him. Though I am starting to agree with Black Star on one point: I think Kid just needs some time away to figure things out for himself."

"But did he have to do it by _breaking up with her?_" his fiancee argued.

Soul shrugged. "Maybe, or maybe not. We'll never know now. Anyways, Liz was going to go back to school today, wasn't she? Have you heard from Patty yet about how she did?"

"Nope," his meister replied, "but we're all going over there for dinner tonight anyways, so we'll find out then."

"Cool. Well, ready to go home, then?"

"Yep."

* * *

><p>"THE GREAT BLACK STAR HAS ARRIVED!" yelled the blue-haired assassin enthusiastically the moment Patty opened the door to the penthouse, "NOW THE PARTY CAN BEGIN!"<p>

Soul rolled his eyes, pushing past his friend to get inside. "Hey Patty, Maka's on her way, she's finishing up a strawberry shortcake she wanted to bring tonight."

"Awesome," the younger Thompson sister replied, "Sis will love that!"

"So how was she at school today?" Tsubaki asked with her typical caring smile dashed across her face.

"Actually," the blonde replied, smiling, "she did really well! She's actually getting really enthusiastic about our schoolwork, especially our sketching class. Just in the last two days she's already drawn designs for seven dresses! They're all really pretty, so I'll bet she's excited to show them off."

"That's wonderful!" the black-haired woman cooed, "I can't wait to see them, and I'm sure Maka would love to see them, too!"

"Yeah," Soul chimed in, "it's good to hear that she's doing better. Has she mentioned Kid at all?"

"No," Patty replied quietly, "and I'm too scared to say anything. When she passes by his bedroom door, or walks by anything of his, she just acts like it doesn't even exist," she finished sadly.

"So, basically she's trying to act like nothing happened, right?" Black Star summarized.

"Pretty much," the young woman responded, "that's how she's always ended up getting over other guys. I dunno how long it's gonna take her this time though. I mean it was _Kid_. Even _I_ feel like my insides are all squishy like mashed potatoes."

"I'm comiiiiiiiiing..." Maka's voice called from the hallway. A few moments later, she burst through the doorway and pushed past both Soul and Black Star with a cake tray, tupperware container, and whipped cream can stacked together. "I brought cake," she announced as she stopped in front of Patty.

"Yippee!" the other blonde celebrated, happily removing the bundle from Maka's arms. "Sis and I are making a giant pot of spaghetti for dinner! And we put some Pillsbury breadsticks in the oven too! I love seeing the Pillsbury dough boy on the wrappers!" she giggled.

"Sounds good to me!" Black Star announced, taking off toward the kitchen with Patty on his heels.

After Tsubaki closed and locked the front door behind them, she placed a gentle hand on Soul and Maka's shoulders. "Hey you guys, I was thinking that it's probably not a good idea for any of us to act too affectionately with our partners right now."

Both faces looked a bit surprised.

Tsubaki blushed slightly, but continued, "You know, just so we don't make Liz feel uncomfortable or anything. I already talked to Black Star about it earlier, and he's promised to tone it down, too."

"Of course," Maka nodded instantly, "We'll just act like a bunch of friends getting together to eat and have fun!"

"Got it," Soul replied, stuffing both hands into his pockets to remove any possible temptation to touch his fiancee.

"Okay!" the black-haired woman replied with a smile, "Let's go."

* * *

><p>The evening went smoothly enough. The group of friends all managed to eat, laugh, and goof around in their usual cheerful manner. On the few occasions that they would typically wait for Kid to pipe in with one of his comments, someone, usually Black Star, made sure to insert their own commentary in it's place. Everyone tried even harder than usual to be merry, particularly the eldest Thompson sister.<p>

"So Maka, Soul," Liz asked, still recovering her breath from the latest bout of laughter to hit the table, "have you guys thought about setting a date for the wedding yet?"

Both ruby and emerald eyes bugged out, and their jaws slacked open.

"I'll take that as a 'no' then," the eldest blonde laughed, "Well, surely you've at least decided who your bridesmaids are gonna be, right Maka?"

"O-of course!" the ashen blonde sputtered, "It's you, Patty, and Tsubaki!"

All three young women cheered.

"So who's gonna be the maid of honor, _huh_?" asked a giggly Patty.

Maka flushed. "Well, I was going to _formally_ ask Tsubaki later, but if everything has to be out on the table _now_ then I guess that idea is a bust."

The black-haired woman beamed, and gratefully bowed her head. "Thank you so much, Maka! I would gladly be your maid of honor!"

Liz and Patty both squealed with mirth!

"Okay!" Liz shouted over her sister's cheering, "but if Tsubaki gets to be maid of honor, then we get to design your dress!"

"Really?" Maka asked, her eyes lighting up, "You guys would do that for me?"

"Absolutely!" both sisters assured her in unison.

Maka practically flew out of her chair, nearly hitting Soul on her way around the table to hug the other two blondes. "Thank you! Thank you! You'll make sure it's not going to be anything embarrassing, right? Nothing too flashy?"

"Don't worry!" Liz reassured her friend, "I'll make sure it's simple, elegant, and _stunning_! You're gonna be the most beautiful bride on this side of the bridge!*"

As all four girls giggled and celebrated, Soul and Black Star exchanged exasperated glances. They definitely hadn't counted on being stuck in a room with a pack of giggling girls.

"Hey Soul" Liz shouted over the mass of giggles, "Who's gonna be your best man? Is Black Star gonna have to duke it out with Wes? Or-"

Suddenly, the blonde's mouth snapped shut. Everyone went dead silent.

Lightly, Patty poked her sister's shoulder. "Sis?"

The rims of the elder Thompson's blue eyes began to water, but she fought the urge to let them fall.

"Is..." Everyone stared, worried, as each word slowly came out of her mouth, "Is... K-Kid going to be one of your groomsmen?"

Maka tightened her grip around her friend's shoulders, while Patty squeezed her sibling's hand. It was the first time she had dared to acknowledge her ex-boyfriend's existence, and she had been brave enough to mention his name, too.

Carefully, Soul thought through his answer. "I was planning on having Wes be my best man, and Black Star and Kid my other groomsmen, but," he paused, carefully watching Liz's face for any additional signs of stress before continuing, "_but_ if Kid continues to act like an idiot, and alienate us all, then he won't even be invited to the wedding. He's gotta earn back everyone's trust first," the young man finished solemnly.

Liz nodded without another word, the tears welling up again. Her sister squeezed her hand once more.

Once she had finally accepted her pain, and had one final cry, the young woman no longer felt the need for tears. And her friends loved her even more for her fortitude.

* * *

><p>~end chapter 7<p>

_leading tone = the note or chord that is a half step below the tonic (root of the scale)._

*In case you guys didn't understand Liz's "this side of the bridge" comment, when she was talking to Maka about designing her wedding dress, I'll explain: The bridge that she is referring to is the Brooklyn Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the island of Manhattan. It's a phrase that is commonly used to distinguish between the less affluent (Brooklyn) and more affluent (Manhattan) areas. Depending on where the person using the phrase is currently located, it can mean different things. Since they are living on the Manhattan side, Liz is using this as a compliment. If they were on the Brooklyn side, then depending on how it was said, it could be construed as an insult. Of course, it can also be used neutrally, to simply state a location.


	8. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**Please Note:** This is _not_ a chapter update.

This is merely a notice to inform my readers of my most popular, currently running stories that I am in the process of migrating my fanfiction from FF(.)net to DeviantArt.

This change is due to FF(.)net's recent decision to 'purge' all M rated, including all sexual and violent, content from the site.

This decision has been in the works for months, as I have exhibited by posting all of my recent Final Fantasy XIII-2 works on dA _before_ posting them here, however, FF(.)net's decision has only solidified my personal decision to leave the community.

My account will remain active, and readers will still be able to access all of my stories that survive the 'purge' however, I will no longer post updates nor will I reply to any messages or reviews sent to this account.

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to you all, and hope that you will follow me over to my dA account.

Love to all,

Puppy

puppynoelle(.)deviantart(.)com


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